Dealer targets and incentives that drive the right behaviour

Dealer targets are one of the strongest levers a brand has. They are also one of the easiest to get wrong. A target written as "₹50 lakh billing this quarter, 2% bonus if achieved" produces exactly what it rewards: a rush of orders in the last week, stock that sits in the dealer's godown, and a slow start to the next quarter.

What a good target rewards

Sell-through, not just sell-in. Secondary sales where you can see them.
Breadth — new outlets, focus products, range.
Consistency — steady monthly performance, not a quarter-end spike.
Collection — sales that are paid for.

Building a target

Base it on the territory: last year's sales, outlets covered, growth plan.
Split it across the period — monthly, not just quarterly.
Add a focus element: a new product, a new outlet count, a region.
Decide what counts toward it — which products, which sales, which dates.
Write the incentive down alongside the target, with how and when it will be paid.

Worked example

A dealer's quarterly target is ₹45 lakh, split as ₹15 lakh per month, with a focus target of 40 new outlets.

Month	Target	Achieved	Running %
1	₹15 L	₹13.2 L	88%
2	₹15 L	₹16.1 L	97%
3	₹15 L	₹15.9 L	100.4%

Because progress is visible monthly, the dealer recovers a weak first month by selling in month two — not by loading stock on the last day of month three.

Tracking during the period

Contributions — which sales counted toward the target, recorded as they happen.
Progress visible to both sides, weekly.
Incentives accrued as earned, so the payout at the end is not a surprise — see scheme accruals and claims.

How Zaqnet tracks targets

In Zaqnet's dealer network, each dealer has targets with the sales that contribute to them recorded against each target, next to their schemes, claims and ledger. The office follows progress in ControlRoom; field teams book outlet orders in GroundLink against the right dealer.

Pay dealers for the business you want next quarter, not just the invoices you want this week.

Questions people ask.

How should dealer targets be set?

Start from what the dealer's territory can realistically sell — past sales, outlets covered, growth plans — rather than dividing the company's number evenly. Set targets on what you want more of (new outlets, focus products, secondary sales), not just total billing.

Why do quarter-end targets cause problems?

When incentives depend only on primary billing by a deadline, dealers order heavily in the last week to qualify, then sell slowly through the next quarter. Sales look good, stock piles up, and the next quarter starts weak.

How often should dealers see their target progress?

Continuously, or at least weekly. A dealer who learns on day 85 that they are short of a 90-day target can only fix it by loading stock. One who sees it weekly can fix it by selling.